Bartleby, the Scrivener (Melville)
Short Summary
Wall Street, New York, presumably 1850s. An elderly lawyer hired a new scrivener named Bartleby to copy legal documents in his office.
At first, Bartleby worked diligently, copying documents day and night. However, when asked to proofread his work, he replied with what would become his characteristic response: 'I would prefer not to.' As time passed, he began refusing more tasks, eventually ceasing to write altogether, while continuing to occupy his corner of the office.
The lawyer discovered that Bartleby had made the office his home, sleeping there and never leaving. Despite growing frustration, the lawyer felt both pity and fascination for his employee. When he attempted to dismiss Bartleby, the scrivener refused to leave. Even after the lawyer moved his office elsewhere, Bartleby remained in the building, causing problems for the new tenants.
Eventually, Bartleby was arrested as a vagrant and taken to the Tombs prison. The lawyer visited him there and attempted to help, but Bartleby refused all assistance and soon died of starvation. After his death, the lawyer learned that Bartleby had previously worked in the Dead Letter Office in Washington.
For by the cart-load they are annually burned... pardon for those who died despairing; hope for those who died unhoping... On errands of life, these letters speed to death. Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!
This revelation about Bartleby's past work with dead letters - messages that never reached their intended recipients - provided a glimpse into the possible source of his profound isolation and passive resistance to life.
Detailed Summary
Summary sections do not match original text structure.
The Lawyer's Office and Its Inhabitants
An elderly Wall Street lawyer ran a comfortable business dealing with rich men's bonds, mortgages, and title-deeds. His office employed two copyists, nicknamed Turkey and Nippers, and an office boy called Ginger Nut.
Turkey, an Englishman about sixty years old, was an excellent morning worker but became reckless and hot-tempered after his midday dinner. Nippers, a young man of twenty-five, suffered from indigestion and ambition, making him irritable in the mornings but calmer after noon. Their opposing temperaments complemented each other, as one was useful when the other was troubled.
Ginger Nut, the twelve-year-old office boy, was the son of a car-man who aspired to see his son become a lawyer. His main duty was fetching ginger nut cakes for Turkey and Nippers.
Bartleby's Arrival and Initial Period
In response to an advertisement, a motionless, pallid young man named Bartleby appeared at the office. The lawyer hired him, hoping his calm demeanor would balance out his other employees' temperaments. Bartleby was assigned a corner near the folding doors, separated from the lawyer by a high green screen.
I believe that no materials exist for a full and satisfactory biography of this man. It is an irreparable loss to literature. Bartleby was one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable.
Initially, Bartleby worked extraordinarily well, copying documents day and night without rest. However, when the lawyer asked him to help verify a document's accuracy, Bartleby replied with what would become his characteristic phrase: he would prefer not to. This unexpected response left the lawyer stunned, but he did not immediately confront the issue.
The Progression of Bartleby's Resistance
As days passed, Bartleby continued to refuse various tasks, always with the same mild statement that he would prefer not to. The lawyer discovered that Bartleby never left the office, apparently living there day and night, eating ginger nuts and never going out for meals. Despite his growing concern, the lawyer felt a mixture of pity and fascination with his peculiar employee.
Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance. If the individual so resisted be of a not inhumane temper, and the resisting one perfectly harmless in his passivity, then charity will arise.
One Sunday morning, the lawyer found Bartleby in the office, who refused to let him enter. This discovery of Bartleby's permanent residence in the office deeply affected the lawyer. Upon further investigation, he found evidence that Bartleby lived entirely in the office, sleeping on the couch and surviving on minimal food.
What miserable friendlessness and loneliness are here revealed! His poverty is great; but his solitude, how horrible! Think of it. Of a Sunday, Wall-street is deserted as Petra; and every night of every day it is emptiness.
Eventually, Bartleby stopped copying altogether, standing motionless at his window and staring at the blank wall outside. When questioned, he simply stated that he had given up copying. The lawyer's attempts to reason with him or understand his situation were met with passive resistance. Despite his frustration, the lawyer found himself unable to dismiss Bartleby, moved by a strange mixture of pity and superstitious dread.
The Lawyer's Attempts to Resolve the Situation
As Bartleby's behavior began affecting the office's reputation and disturbing other tenants, the lawyer attempted various solutions. He offered Bartleby money to leave, suggested alternative careers, and even proposed to take him home. Each suggestion was met with the same passive refusal. Finally, the lawyer decided to move his office to a new location, leaving Bartleby behind.
I would prefer not to, he replied, with his back still towards me... He remained silent... I buttoned up my coat, balanced myself; advanced slowly towards him, touched his shoulder, and said, The time has come.
However, Bartleby remained in the old office building, haunting the hallways and staircase. The new tenants complained to the lawyer, holding him responsible for his former employee. Despite his attempts to avoid involvement, the lawyer was eventually forced to confront the situation when the new occupants threatened legal action.
In a final attempt to help, the lawyer visited Bartleby and tried to reason with him. He offered various alternative occupations, from bartending to traveling as a companion, but Bartleby preferred to make no changes. The police were eventually called, and Bartleby was taken to the Tombs, the city prison.
Bartleby's Final Days and the Revelation
At the Tombs, the lawyer arranged for Bartleby to receive good food and tried to ensure his comfort. He met the grub-man, who was responsible for providing food to prisoners, and asked him to take special care of Bartleby. However, Bartleby refused to eat, preferring to stand facing the prison walls.
When the lawyer returned to visit again, he found Bartleby lying in the prison yard, dead from starvation. The sight deeply affected him, leading him to reflect on the nature of humanity and isolation.
I remembered the bright silks and sparkling faces I had seen that day... and I contrasted them with the pallid copyist, and thought to myself, Ah, happiness courts the light, so we deem the world is gay.
After Bartleby's death, the lawyer learned that his former employee had previously worked in the Dead Letter Office at Washington, sorting undeliverable mail. This position had been suddenly terminated due to an administration change. The lawyer pondered how handling these lost messages of life - containing everything from unclaimed riches to undelivered pardons - might have affected Bartleby's melancholy nature. The experience of constantly dealing with failed human connections and unfulfilled hopes seemed to explain something of Bartleby's profound disconnection from life.
To a sensitive being, pity is not seldom pain. And when at last it is perceived that such pity cannot lead to effectual succor, common sense bids the soul rid of it.
The story concluded with the lawyer's reflection on the mystery of Bartleby's life and death, acknowledging that while much about the scrivener remained unknowable, his story served as a poignant commentary on isolation and human connection in the modern world. The lawyer's final words - "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!" - expressed both his personal grief and a broader lament for the human condition.